


Not Your Damsel

by whitchry9



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 7+1, Blind Character, Friendship, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-10 20:12:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10446459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitchry9/pseuds/whitchry9
Summary: Matt is getting really sick of being rescued by the Avengers. What's he's even more sick of is needing to be rescued.





	1. Iron Man

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this prompt: http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/8773.html?thread=17668677#cmt17668677
> 
> It was gonna be a 5+1, but now it's a 7+1, which is clearly better, if you know any sort of math.

“Oh no, someone help me,” Matt said sarcastically, with no hint of real emotion. He was tied to a chair, his hands and feet bound, and yet he could get out in about 90 seconds if he really wanted to. But pulling off hair with duct tape hurt, and he was fairly certain he was about to be rescued, so he was going to play it cool and see what happened.

 

Sure enough, not even ten seconds after he made his 'plea', there was a blast a split second before the door came bursting into the room. Behind it, Iron Man flew in.

Matt sighed.

 

The guy who was holding him and Foggy hostage, some potential client they had declined who then got angry, startled. Iron Man shot some sort of energy pulse at him, and it knocked him back.

“Stay down,” Iron Man ordered, and the guy obeyed, clearly having some semblance of intelligence.

 

“You guys okay?” Iron Man asked a second later, when two police officers came into the room and took the guy out in handcuffs.

“Tied to the chair and bound with duct tape, but yeah, fine,” Foggy chimed in, since Matt didn't say anything.

“Let me get that,” Iron Man said. “Hold still.”

Matt scowled.

There was the smell of something burning, hair maybe, and Matt jerked away, but he couldn't, because of the aforementioned tape. It turned out it wasn't even him, it was Foggy, who'd apparently been freed from his bindings, because his arm was on Matt a moment later.

“Hey, it's okay, it's some sort of laser that he's got,” Foggy told him. “I'm fine.”

“It won't cut through living tissue, don't worry,” Iron Man assured him.

“The outer layers of my skin aren't living any more, but I still don't want them sliced off with a laser,” Matt grumbled, but he tried not to move and a second later he was free.

Iron Man laughed. “Sorry, but it was either than or tear it off like a bandage. Preferably, right?”

Matt scowled deeper, but he could tell Foggy was grateful. Matt was too, of course, it just rubbed him the wrong way to be saved by someone else, especially an Avenger.

 

“If you guys are alright, I'm going to leave you in the hands of New York's Finest.”

“Nelson!” someone yelled, and Matt groaned. Brett. “See you've gotten yourself in trouble again. Murdock,” he greeted, standing next to him.

“Shush Brett, Iron Man is talking to us,” Foggy said.

“Yeah, cause he saved your dumb asses,” Brett retorted. “We can take it from here. Thanks though.”

Iron Man saluted before flying out.

“My mom would've been pissed if she found out you got hurt,” Brett told Foggy.

“Yes, well, we're fine, Iron Man saved the day, no one is hurt, let's all go home now,” Matt said, tugging at Foggy's arm to lead him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“What did you do today Tony?” Natasha asked.

Tony pushed the fridge door shut with his hip. “Small time stuff, saved a couple of lawyers in Hell's Kitchen, nothing big.”

Natasha looked thoughtful. “Two of them?”

Tony looked at her. “Yeah, why?”

“One with longer blond hair, one with darker, both pretty cute?”

Tony shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

Natasha grinned.

“Why Nat?”

She shrugged. “Just wondering.”

Tony piled his sandwich ingredients on the counter as she sauntered out of the kitchen. He forgot about their conversation almost immediately.

 


	2. Winter Soldier

“Everyone get down!”

Matt groaned, already pressing his palms into the cold marble floor of the bank. Clearly it was a mistake to come to the bank. Clearly it was a mistake to ever leave his apartment.

 

There were at least three of them that Matt could tell from the smell of gunpowder, and at least nine civilians in the bank. A handful of bank tellers, one custodian, and the manager, tucked into his office near the back.

 

One of the gunmen took a teller into the back, probably to open the safe, and another headed into what Matt thought was probably the manager's office. The last gunman walked among the civilians, all like Matt face down on the floor, their hands by their head.

He was trying to think of a way out of it, a way he could ensure everyone's safety, when the gunman tripped over his cane as he sauntered by, yanking the loop that was wrapped around his wrist.

Before he knew what was happening, he found himself being dragged to his feet by the arm.

“Hey look, we got ourselves a blind guy!” the man cheered. “The perfect hostage.” He pulled Matt by the arm that was still looped through the cane.

He pointed his gun into Matt's side. He could probably act fast enough to get the gun out of his hands, but he wasn't positive. A shot there wouldn't be immediately fatal, but it could hit his spine and countless other vessels. Plus there would be footage of him fighting off an armed gunman, footage that would look reminiscent of Daredevil.

Not worth it. Not yet, anyway.

Behind them, as Matt was being dragged into the back of the bank, there was a clatter.

“Let him go,” a voice threatened.

Matt was spun around as his captor swung to face the speaker. The gun moved from Matt's side to point at the man.

He shook his head, trying to signal that it wasn't worth it.

The man holding him snorted. “Or what? I'll shoot you, then I'll shoot him.”

“I don't want to hurt you,” the man said, and there was something in his voice that made Matt realize he meant it. This was no idle threat.

The gunman snorted and pulled the trigger.

The bullet bounced off the man's outstretched hand and into a nearby pillar. Matt dropped immediately, getting himself out of the line of fire. Someone screamed nearby. The man who'd deflected the bullet grabbed the gun out of the shocked gunman's hand and snapped it in half, knocking him unconscious in one swift move.

“Stay here,” he ordered to Matt, heading into the back of the bank where the other gunmen had gone only moments before.

Matt nodded a second too late, when the man was already gone and couldn't see. He heard similar noises, the snapping of guns and three broken bones, before the man reappeared, dragging the unconscious gunmen in one hand and dropping them all in a heap.

“You okay?” he asked Matt, crouching down next to him. “You went down right after the gunshot, which I think was just a smart defensive move, but I wanted to make sure you didn't get him.”

“I'm fine,” Matt assured him. “Thanks.”

“Want a hand?” the guy offered.

Matt was still a bit dazed, and nodded, holding his hand out. His right was still through the loop of his cane, which had gotten a bit folded up during the ordeal.

The man grabbed his outstretched left hand with cool metal, and everything clicked. Winter Soldier.

What was he doing in a bank in Hell's Kitchen?

 

“If you're alright, I'm going to take these guys outside. The police might want to get a statement from you though, so stick around okay?”

Matt nodded. The sirens had come to a stop outside the building only seconds ago.

Barnes grabbed all three of the unconscious gunmen with his metal arm and dragged them to the front door.

Matt shook his head. Foggy was never going to let him live this down. The one time he went to the bank.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Heard you had some excitement today Buck,” Steve said, smiling.

“Dumbasses tried to rob a bank in Hell's Kitchen in broad daylight,” Bucky grumbled. “Tried to use some poor blind sob as a human shield.”

Natasha, who hadn't been listening much up until that point, perked up. “Dark hair, super cute?”

Bucky nodded. “Why, you know him?”

Natasha smiled a little bit. “Oh, a little bit,” she said, and didn't elaborate at all after that.

 


	3. Thor

Matt was on campus for a guest lecture on the classification and legislation of superpowers when some B level supervillain decided it was a good day to demonstrate just how terrible some of the superpowers out there really were. Matt found himself stuck to his chair quite literally, with some sort of glue that the guy shot out of a water gun. Or a glue gun, he supposed.

Of course, he was one of the unlucky few who was sitting near the front right hand side of the lecture hall, which was the same spot the guy came in, and where most of the glue was concentrated. Most of the people ran out screaming, but Matt had no such luck, and was therefore subjected to a monologue about the perils (or was it benefits?) of higher education.

_Blah blah blah, study like me and you too can wear a ridiculous costume and give yourself a funny name._

Matt was assuming about the costume, since he couldn't actually see it, but he'd bet at least ten dollars it involved a colour that no one in their right mind would wear if they didn't have a secret identity.

 

It was getting to the point where he was debating just tearing his outer layers of skin off so he wouldn't have to hear it anymore when there was a crashing at the back of the room followed by the unusual sound of a hammer striking someone down.

Great. Thor.

 

“And stay down,” Thor threatened. He didn't need to worry, because the man was very unconscious.

 

Thor approached them, pulling something out of his cape. Matt didn't even know the thing had pockets.

“Fear not citizens,” Thor told them. “For this is not the first occasion of which I have fought the Trapster, and I have come prepared to foil his most sticky solution.”

Matt was still trying to understand what that meant when Thor poured something all over him and the others nearby who were still stuck to their seats. Apparently it was some kind of solvent, because the glue dissolved and he was no longer stuck.

Just damp and still sticky. Ugh.

 

“Fear not, learners,” Thor said to them, taking special interest in Matt, who was still trying to get his cane unstuck from itself. Thor took pity on his and gave him an extra splash of the solvent before tucking the container back under his cape.

Thor settled a hand on Matt's shoulder. “There is no need to be afraid anymore.”

“I wasn't afraid,” Matt muttered, shrugging out of Thor's grip.

Thor examined him for a second. “No, you were not,” he said admirably. “You are truly a man without fear.”

Matt sighed. “Can I go home now?”

“Of course,” Thor nodded. “I could take you there, if you like,” he offered, reaching for his hammer.

“No,” Matt blurted out. “Thank you. But... I know how that works and I'd rather avoid it, thanks. I'll call a friend.”

In fact, he was dialing Foggy as he said it.

Foggy picked up with a chirpy “How's campus?”

Matt sighed. “Can you come get me?”

Foggy laughed. “Oh god, not again. Who was it this time? Falcon? I love Falcon.”

Matt sighed again. “Foggy please.”

“Of course man. I'm on my way.” In the background, Matt can hear him putting shoes on and grabbing keys. “... was it Thor?”

Matt groaned.

That was all Foggy needed for confirmation, and he cheered.

Matt kind of just wanted to lay down in the glue on the ground and let the supervillains get it over with.

He resisted though.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Friend Stark, you told me that the Trapster would not break his confines so easily this time!”

Tony popped his head around the corner. “What now?”

“I found him at the learning hall, gluing poor students to their seats. You told me he would remain imprisoned this time.”

“Ah, yes, sadly, I do not set bail.”

Thor frowned. “I do not know what you speak of. He needs to be punished for his misdeeds. The people were trying to better themselves through the learning of superpowers, including one without sight, when they were glued to their seats and made to withstand a lecture from the likes of a puny mortal villain.”

Natasha appeared behind Stark. “This one without sight, was he cute Thor? Red glasses?”

“He did look like something the younglings would fawn over,” Thor admitted.

Natasha laughed.

Thor didn't understand.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thor's characterization in this was based a lot on the animated series, which is A+ by the way.
> 
> also puns


	4. Hawkeye

Matt apparently couldn't even walk anywhere anymore. It was getting ridiculous. If it kept going like this, he was going to have to move out of New York.

 

What started off as him walking to the office was quickly turning into a murderous game of hide and seek, with all of the citizens of Hell's Kitchen the targets of some flying thing with wings. If Matt didn't know better, he'd say it sounded like a dragon.

 

He'd managed to get almost to the office by staying close to buildings where the creature couldn't reach him, and now he was only one street away from the office. Of course, he had to cross the wide open street and hope he didn't get carried away.

He listened for a minute. Iron Man and Thor had been chasing the creature around, and he couldn't hear either of them, or the flapping of its wings, and he figured it would probably be safe if he made a break for it. Traffic was nonexistent at the moment, probably because of the dragon thing that was flying around terrorizing the citizens, and he likely wouldn't get a better opportunity to get to the safety of the office.

 

He was halfway across the street when he realized it had been a mistake. He hadn't heard the Avengers because they were blocks away looking for the creature, which had apparently been hidden on a rooftop, since it started up again flapping its wings as soon as Matt was visible in the street. And of course the Avengers were too far away to get there in time. Running wouldn't make a difference.

The thing reached down with talons (talons? Really?) and Matt figured this was the end, he was going to get taken out by some giant flying lizard. Right before he was about to get impaled, a person on some sort of flying bike grabbed him out of the line of fire and yanked him back to the safety of the sidewalk.

 

“You okay man?”

Matt worked on getting his breath back, because an arm to his chest at whatever speed the guy was traveling was enough to knock the wind out of him.

He nodded though.

The guy let out a sigh of relief. “Phew. I was afraid you were going to be skewered.”

“Me too,” Matt said.

“I'm guessing you didn't really know what was going on?”

Matt assumed that was in reference to his blindness. “Does anyone ever in this city?”

The guy laughed. “Good point. After all, how often does a dinosaur named after a Middle Earth character terrorize New York City?”

Dinosaur, not dragon. That really didn't help Matt's opinions. “Monthly, probably?” he guessed.

“About every six weeks actually, but good guess. If you're okay for the time being, I've got an arrow filled with tranquilizer that I want to shoot where the sun won't shine in that flying stick insect.”

Matt blinked. The only person he knew who used arrows was Hawkeye. But since when did Hawkeye have a flying bike?

Whatever.

“Yeah, go get him,” he nodded.

Hawkeye pulled his bow off his back and seemed to be about to take off before he reconsidered.

“Hey, are you a lawyer?” he asked.

Matt frowned. “Yeah, why?”

“I get into a lot of trouble. Will probably need one some day,” he admitted.

Matt couldn't help but smile a bit. “Well, we work out of Hell's Kitchen if you ever need us.” He was sure there was more to it than that, but didn't really have time to interrogate the guy while there was a dinosaur on the loose.

“Cool,” Hawkeye nodded, and started up his flying bike again. He nocked an arrow on his bow and took off.

Matt sighed. He hoped this didn't make the news.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey Tasha, guess who's officially a superhero now?” Clint beamed.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. “Really Clint?”

He nodded. “You're not a real superhero until you save the hot blind lawyer, am I right?”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Children,” she huffed.

“You're just saying that because you haven't saved him yet,” Clint told her, matter of fact.

She stared him down until he withered under her gaze and left the room.

 


	5. Captain America

Matt pushed the door close button on the elevator again. He was already running late and he didn't need this.

Apparently the meeting was not on the 41st floor like he'd been told in a previous email, but on the 19th floor. Although it was just as likely they were screwing with him in the hopes that he'd give up, but he wasn't going to let them off that easy. Their client had a good case, one that they would win if they went to court, which was why they probably weren't going to court. Matt was confident they would settle.

 

The elevator doors finally closed and it began moving. Matt huffed. Not fast enough though.

 

There was a crack and a split second of free fall before the elevator jerked to a stop, knocking Matt to the ground.

 

_Shit._

 

Because that was all his day needed. There was an instant where he entertained the idea that the company was out to get him, but he dismissed it, pulling himself back to his feet and pressing the help button.

Static. Great.

He checked his phone. No signal. Right. Because most elevators act as Faraday cages, and the one in this building couldn't have been made of glass.

He was just having a _super_ day.

 

Matt sighed, and sat back down on the ground, folding his cane up. He listened carefully. The elevator sounded structurally sound, just... stuck, for whatever reason.

 

And surely, someone would come. Perhaps not for him, but for the missing elevator, at least.

 

He played some games on his phone, attempted to send a text (failed), and was definitely late for the meeting when the doors creaked open.

“Anyone in here?” a voice called from above him.

Matt tilted his head up. “Yup.”

“You okay?”

Matt shrugged. “I'm not hurt, if that's what you're asking, but I am late for a meeting.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. I'm Steve.”

“Matt.”

“Well Matt, I could probably just reach in there and pull you out, but there's an engineer on the phone who says that's a bad idea in case the elevator slips and cuts you in half while I'm pulling you out.”

Great. Even better. Matt winced.

“Sorry,” Steve said. “But maintenance is on their way, and they're going to stabilize the elevator so we can get you out.”

He must have been stuck between floors then, otherwise it wouldn't be such a concern.

“So what meeting are you here for?” Steve asked. It sounded like he was settling in, leaning against the partially opened elevator doors.

“I'm a lawyer. My client is suing the company.”

Steve laughed. “Wow, really?”

Matt shrugged. “We're gonna win too. The meeting today was about a settlement so we wouldn't have to go to court. Easier for my client, less bad publicity for the company, win win.”

“And now you're stuck in an elevator,” Steve summed up.

Matt sighed. “Yeah. Well, what about you? What do you do? You don't work here, do you?” Matt was horrified. What if he was complaining about this company to one of its employees? What if he was a manager or something? Dammit, the day just kept going down hill.

“No, just visiting a friend who works here.”

“Oh. So what do you do?”

There was a pause that made Matt think the guy was someone easily recognizable. A celebrity? What celebrity was named Steve?

Oh shit. Not a celebrity. A superhero.

“Are you Captain America?” Matt blurted out, sounding a lot more like Foggy than himself.

Steve laughed nervously. “Yeah.”

Matt leaned against the wall of the elevator. “Wow. ”

There was a noise that Matt thought was Steve shrugging.

“I guess that does explain how you got the elevator doors open,” Matt mused.

Steve laughed again. “I guess. Hey, is there anyone you want me to notify? The people you were supposed to have the meeting with?”

Matt felt for his watch. He was over half an hour late now.

Of course, now that he wasn't in such a sealed metal tube, he'd probably be able to send and receive texts.

Sure enough, the next one he sent to Foggy went through.

“Ah, that's okay. My law partner is on his way.”

Foggy wouldn't be happy about it, but Matt figured he had the higher ground on this one, since he was currently stuck in an elevator.

There was some noise outside the elevator, probably the maintenance team that Steve had mentioned.

“Hey Matt, maintenance is here now. I've got to run, but I hope your day starts getting better from here.”

Matt laughed. “Thanks.”

He didn't blame Steve for leaving, he probably had superhero business to attend to, or at least something better than sitting by an elevator.

And really, his day couldn't get too much worse.

 

(Of course, Foggy arrived as soon as Matt was freed and laughed his ass off that Matt had been rescued by yet another Avenger, despite Matt telling him Steve played only a very minimal part in his rescue. Foggy wasn't hearing it.)

 

 

* * *

 

 

Tony somehow sensed the second Steve got home, and practically pounced on him. “Hey Steve. Glad to see you have both your arms still and that one wasn't torn off in a terrible elevator accident. Everything turn out okay otherwise?”

Steve sighed. “Yes Tony, thank you for your help. There was some poor guy in there who was late for a meeting. I sat with him until maintenance got there. Did you know Rand had a pending lawsuit?”

Tony snorted. “Steve, Rand has at least ten pending lawsuits at any given time. Why, was the guy there to sue them or something?”

“Nah, he was the lawyer. So I guess he was there to sue them? But not directly?” He scratched his head. “I really don't know,” he admitted finally.

“Lawyer? Hey, I rescued a lawyer a while back. Probably not the same one, but small world I guess. What is it with lawyers and needing rescuing?” Tony asked.

Steve just shrugged.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't actually finished Iron Fist yet, cause exams and stuff, but Rand is a large building with elevators, so I can use it if I want to.


	6. Falcon

The building across the street was on fire.

Which wasn't a good start, but what was even worse was that there was someone inside. Young, female based on the pitch of the screaming.

 

Someone nearby was calling 911, Matt could hear it, but there were no sirens in the distance. They might not get there in time.

 

But there was him. He could probably get in, grab her, and get out, even before the firetrucks arrived. There was no one nearby enough that could see him and yell that he shouldn't, so he just... went for it, jogging across the street towards the building. He held onto his cane, figuring it could be useful, even if just as a glorified stick.

He could feel the heat already, the acrid smoke as he grew closer and- _what._

 

He wasn't on the ground anymore. What the hell?

There were arms around his chest and he could make out a guy with wings holding Matt to his chest. The only person Matt knew of with wings was Falcon.

Dammit. Another Avenger.

“What are you doing? Let go of me,” Matt ordered.

“Um, rescuing you? The building is on fire.”

“I knew that,” he snapped.

“Man, I know you can't see, but what were you thinking trying to walk into a building on fire?” Falcon berated him as they soared away from the building in question.

“There's a girl in there,” Matt yelled, trying to pry the man's arms off from around him. Yeah, he'd probably fall to his death, but at least it would get the point across.

“Shit, really?”

“Yes,” Matt huffed.

Falcon touched down on a nearby roof and let go of him. “Thanks. I'll get her. And... sorry about grabbing you.”

Matt rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion. “Go,” he insisted.

And Falcon was gone again.

 

Matt sat down on the roof and sighed. Sure, running into a burning building wasn't his best move, but it also wasn't his worst.

He just hoped the girl was okay.

 

 

* * *

 

 

By the time Sam rescued the girl, got her to the paramedics, and supervised the start of extinguishing the fire, he remembered that he left that blind guy on a roof.

Except he wasn't there when he got back.

The weirdest part was that there were no stairs to the roof, no access whatsoever. And sure the buildings next to it had fire escapes and doors to the inside, but there was at least a three foot gap between the buildings.

Sam shook his head and just hoped he hadn't gotten the guy killed.

 

(He told Natasha about the incident a few days later over drinks, and she nearly fell out of her chair laughing and refused to explain why.)

 


	7. Hulk

That was it, Matt was never going to a bar that wasn't Josie's ever again. Not because Josie was such a charming ray of sunshine, or even because the drinks were good or cheap, but because no one, for all their faults, had ever tried to stab him at Josie's.

 

He'd just stopped in for a drink after meeting a client in Midtown, hell, not even an alcoholic drink, just some water would do. But then he tripped over some guy's foot, and despite apologizing, the man just got more and more agitated, to the point where he pulled out a switchblade.

And of course Matt could disarm him, but not without drawing even more attention on top of the already considerable focus on him. But he supposed it was either that or get stabbed.

 

“Is there a problem?” someone asked.

Finally, someone was stepping in. The past five minutes the room had gotten very quiet, and all eyes must have been on them, but no one said or did anything until this man arrived.

“There's gonna be,” the man holding the knife sneered.

“Are you sure that's wise?” the other man said calmly.

 _Shit,_ someone whispered. Someone else tugged at the man with the knife. “Dude, sit down,” they hissed.

The man with the knife only yanked his arm away. “Don't tell me what to do man.”

“I think you should listen to your friend,” Matt's defender said. He was still calm, his heart rate holding steady.

Matt took a step back, and the man with the knife moved in.

He wasn't entirely sure what happened after that, but there was no pain, no stab in his guts. There _was_ a deep roar and a voice growling _“No!”_ The knife clattered to the ground.

And that... that was not the same man who'd been there a second ago.

 

The man who'd tried to stab Matt screamed, scrambling to his feet and nearly tripping in his attempt to get out of the bar.

And yeah, Matt would probably be doing the same thing if the Hulk had growled at him too. As it was, he merely froze and prayed that he wouldn't be crushed.

“Hurt?”

It took Matt a second to realize Hulk was speaking to him.

“Oh. No, thank you for that.”

Hulk patted the top of his head with what Matt thought was probably a single finger. Hulk nodded. “Safe now,” he added.

Matt smiled. “I think I am.”

The bar had mostly emptied out except for the two of them and one terrified man behind the bar, who must have been frozen in terror.

“Drink?” Hulk asked, gesturing to the bar.

And well, it would be rude of Matt to refuse. Plus, he was thirsty.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Can someone come pick me up?” Bruce asked wearily over the speakerphone.

The Avengers looked among themselves.

“I'll go,” Steve offered.

“Bring pants please,” Bruce sighed.

“Of course,” Steve agreed, and disappeared into the elevator. He knew that an address would be waiting for him before he even got to the garage.

“What happened this time?” Tony asked.

Bruce sighed. “I'm not entirely sure. I think I broke up a bar fight?”

“Seems a bit beneath you,” Natasha commented.

Bruce hummed. “Yeah, probably. But I think it was a bunch of guys against some blind man, and no one was helping him. So I guess I did.”

“That was nice of you,” Natasha told him, smiling.

“Oh, and you might get a bar tab Tony,” Bruce added.

 

Tony merely looked at the ceiling like the world had offended him.

 


	8. +1 Everyone

There was so much blood. It was all Matt could smell. It was sickening.

But he could still hear eight heartbeats, eight people who were still alive despite all the blood around them.

And he wasn't going to let it be a distraction from saving them.

 

He took the lights out first, all the electrical in the building. Someone would have to come outside to check the breaker box, and when they did, he would knock them out. With any luck, another would come out shortly after, then another, then another. If they were stupid enough, he could take half of them out without even breaking a sweat.

He wasn't that lucky, of course.

 

He took out the first one, and the second, but after that, no more came, and there was shouting inside that wasn't clear enough for Matt to decipher.

What he could tell was that one of the hostages was stood up, their hands and legs still bound, and moved to the corner. Then someone pulled out a gun.

 

Matt smashed the window with one billy club while using the other as a grappling hook to swing his way in. He kicked the gun out of the guy's hand, knocking him out before he could pull the trigger on the hostage.

He hoped it was still dark enough that he had the advantage.

 

Inside, the smell of blood was even more intense, and it almost overwhelmed him. But instead of letting it, he used it to power the rage he was feeling. That these people could hurt so many and without thought.

Matt hoped they could feel it in every punch he landed, ever kick, every throw of his billy clubs that hit right on target.

 

And before long, they were all lying unconscious in the blood that they had spilled.

 

Matt went over to the hostages. “Everyone okay?” he asked. Most of were unconscious, and had been since the start. It made sense for Bruce, because there was no other way to contain the Hulk, and he supposed it just made it easier so they didn't have to listen to Tony Stark talking them to death. He wasn't sure why the others had been drugged as well though.

Sam had been the one taken to the corner to be shot, and he was crouched, hands and legs still bound, but mostly conscious and alive.

They were all alive.

 

Matt tilted his head. Although based on the sounds of it, wouldn't be forever if the bleeding kept up.

 

He sliced through the combination of zip ties and duct tape used to imprison the Avengers without any superpowers, but didn't really know what to do for Thor, Bucky, and Steve, who were bound with some ridiculous and foreign metals that Matt couldn't place.

 

“Don't worry about me,” Thor assured him. “Remove my shield brothers and sister to the outside of the building so that I may free myself without having to worry about hurting them.”

 

Matt was skeptical, but did as Thor asked, carrying each of the Avengers in turn. Sam made his way on his own, still unsteady on his feet, but capable of doing triage. He'd procured what was probably a first aid kit from somewhere, Matt had no idea how or when he did that, but was glad someone was thinking of it.

He took Natasha out first, and by the time he got Steve out last, dragging him the whole way, both Natasha and Tony were bandaged up, and Sam was starting work on Clint.

 

With everyone outside, Thor pulled through the restraints, shattering the metal and sending it flying everywhere. Considerate of him not to do that while the others were in the room, Matt figured.

 

“You hurt Thor?” Sam yelled.

“Nay, I am well,” Thor told him, emerging from the building.

“Great, try to stop some of the bleeding from Steve's abdomen,” Sam ordered.

 

What Matt hadn't realized at the time was that the blood was really only coming from two Avengers- Steve and Bucky. The rest had superficial wounds and had been drugged, but really weren't injured. Bucky and Steve had been supplying most of the blood that had been on the floor and in the room, and it was only because of their enhanced physical condition that they were both still alive. That was probably the point. Whoever had taken them had known no drugs could keep them out for long, and were banking on the combination of blood loss and sedation to keep them neutralized.

 

Sam was stuffing gauze into a particularly deep wound in Bucky's thigh when he realized Matt was still standing there.

“Hey Daredevil, you got a phone or something? We're going to need medical evac for these two, and maybe Bruce.”

Bruce was still unconscious with no signs of waking up, even though the others had all started to come around, with the exception of the two super soldiers in shock.

Matt nodded. “I'll make a call.”

 

He made a brief call to Mahoney at the 15th precinct, requesting multiple ambulances and police cars. By the time he hung up, Tony, Natasha, and Clint were all conscious and moving around, helping attend to Steve and Bucky, who were still unconscious and bleeding.

 

Stark was muttering something to himself while checking Bruce's pulse and pulling him on his side. They all seemed to know what to do, and Matt suddenly felt useless again.

 

He turned to go, but felt a hand on his arm.

Black Widow.

 

He turned back so it looked like he was facing her.

“Thanks,” she told him.

“No problem.”

She studied him for a second. “You know, for someone so capable, I find it interesting you've required rescuing on so many occasions.”

Matt frowned. “I'm not sure what you-”

“Hush Murdock,” she told him. “It's fine, I'm not going to tell.”

It took Matt a second, but he managed to collect himself. “Great.”

Black Widow nodded at him. “Thanks for returning the favour.”

He shrugged. “You're the only one who hasn't saved me you know.”

She smiled, Matt thought. “Biding my time,” she told him.

“You do know this means you're the only one who owes me,” he pointed out.

Natasha hummed. “I'll make it up to you somehow,” she said.

 

The first ambulance arrived behind them, and when Natasha turned to glance at it, Matt disappeared into the night, blending back into the darkness.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Foggy brandished that day's newspaper at Matt. “I know you haven't seen the headline, but have you heard it?” He continued without waiting for Matt to respond. “'Daredevil saves all Avengers from certain doom'. A bit overdramatic maybe, but good on you.”

Matt leaned back in his chair. “It is nice, isn't it. Giving something back,” he smirked.

“I'm sure you're just pleased with yourself because you saved all of them in one go,” Foggy told him.

Matt smiled. “Yes. I think I am.”

 

 


End file.
